Process of treating silicates of aluminum for the purpose of obtaining valuable products.



A. SINDING-LARSEN.

rnoonss or TREATING SILIGATES or ALUMINUM ron THE PURPOSE or OBTAINING VALUABLE PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. '7, 1907.

927,758, Patented Ju1y13,1909.

Witnesses. Inventor.

burrs srnrns PATENT OFFICE.

ALF SINDING-LARSEN, OF CHRISTIANIA, NORWAY.

PROCESS OF TREATING SILIOATES OF ALUMINUM FOR THE PURPOSE OF OBTAINING VALUABLE PRODUCTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 1909.

Application filed November 7, 1907. Serial No. 401,145.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALF SINDING-LARSEN, a subject of the King of Norway, residing at Uhristiania, Norway, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Processes of Treating silicates of Aluminium for the Purpose of Obtaining Valuable Products; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object a process of treating silicates of aluminium as found in nature, for the purpose of obtaining valuable products especially aluminium, aluminium alloys and silicids. Examples of such silicates are feldspath, common clay, kaolin.

The process is a reduction process carried out in an electric furnace and may be com- 'bined with an electrolytic process. Under the action of the electric current and heat elements, for instance iron, having great affinity for silicon, are combined with the latter, the aluminium remaining as oxid.

I may carry out the'process in the folloW ing manner (reference being had to the drawing showing a longitudinal section of an electric furnace), hereby using the counter current method. A is a furnace of a long, flat shape, B, C and D are electrodes. At one end of the furnace there is a tap hole and at the other end a tap hole F. At G the silieious material is introduced in the furnace and at H a mixture of iron (for instance iron scrap or iron ore) and coke (or iron with a great percentage carbon) is introduced. When the process is working, there will be a continuous flow of ferro silicon at the bottom of the furnace toward the taphole E and a flow of slag containing aluminium-oxid in the opposite direction above the ferro-silicon toward the taphole F, which is placed at a higher level than the hole E.

Claims.

1. The process which comprises feeding material containing aluminium silicate to one end of a long electric furnace and a mixture of iron and a reducing agent to the other end thereof, and passing an electric current between theelectrodes extending into the furnace.

2. The process which comprises feeding material containing aluminium silicate to one end of a long electric furnace having suitable electrodes and discharging slag containing aluminium oxid at the opposite end thereof, feeding a mixture of iron, a reducing agent and a flux at-the other end of the furnace and discharging ferro-silicon at the first mentioned end, a suitable electric current being passed between the electrodes.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALF SINDING-LARSEN.

\Vitnesses MICHAEL ALGER, Jon. VAATER. 

